Kolkata/New Delhi, 14 October, 2024: The hunger strike by junior doctors in West Bengal, now in its 10th day, saw another doctor hospitalized on Sunday night due to deteriorating health, officials said.
According to reports, Pulastha Acharya, a doctor from NRS Medical College and Hospital, was admitted after complaining of severe stomach pain.
“He is currently in the Critical Care Unit (CCU), and his condition has worsened,” according to hospital authorities.
“His health parameters have deteriorated, and we’ve formed a medical board to treat him,” a senior doctor at NRS Medical College said.
This brings the total to four junior doctors, including three others from Kolkata and Siliguri, who have been hospitalized after joining the hunger strike, he said.
The protest began following an incident at RG Kar Hospital and is part of a broader demand for workplace safety, justice for the victim, and the removal of state Health Secretary N.S. Nigam.
Despite the health risks faced by the doctors, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, in a letter to the Joint Platform of Doctors (JPD) on Sunday, urged them to call off their planned demonstration on October 15.
The protest coincides with the state’s Durga Puja Carnival, a key annual event.
Pant also invited the JPD for a meeting on Monday at Swasthya Bhawan, the state health department’s headquarters, to discuss their demands.
In an email, Pant asked the JPD to “advise” the junior doctors to end their hunger strike.
The JPD responded on Monday, expressing “profound disappointment” over the government’s decision to continue with the carnival despite the protests.
“Junior doctors have been on hunger strike for 10 days, with three now in the ICU, yet the government prioritizes celebrations over addressing these grave concerns,” the JPD said in a statement.
While the JPD said they respect the constitutional right to celebrate, they asserted their own right to protest peacefully.
“It is disheartening that the government has asked us to withdraw the ‘Droher Carnival’ demonstration on October 15, meant to show solidarity with the agitating doctors,” the statement added.
The junior doctors are demanding justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim, improved workplace security, and other measures.
